Timeline Looks Awful Tough in Pegasus

‘TDN Rising Star‘ Timeline (Hard Spun) might very well have vied for favoritism in last Saturday’s GI Belmont S., but instead he’ll contest Sunday’s GIII Betfair.com Pegasus S., where he figures to be an extremely heavy favorite. The $500,000 KEESEP yearling got up late on debut at Gulfstream Mar. 4 to defeat a strong field that included eventual GII Woody Stephens S. runner-up Giuseppe the Great (Lookin At Lucky), and aired by a jaw-dropping 13 1/2 lengths over a sloppy mile at Aqueduct Apr. 6. Heavily favored in the nine-furlong GIII Peter Pan S. again over a wet track at Belmont May 13, he ground down Belmont eighth Meantime (Shackleford) to the tune of 3 1/2 lengths. The most formidable challenges to Timeline seem likely to come from the two outside runners, Talk Logistics (High Cotton) and Honor the Fleet (To Honor and Serve). The former was second and third, respectively, in a pair of one-turn listed stakes at Gulfstream over the winter, and rolled a pair of fours in the GII Lambholm South Holy Bull S. Feb. 4 and GII Xpressbet Fountain of Youth S. Mar. 4. Sixth behind Always Dreaming (Bodemeister) in the GI Xpressbet Florida Derby Apr. 1, he was last seen finishing second with a wide trip against his elders in a sloppy local allowance May 13. Honor the Fleet broke through by daylight second out in a one-mile maiden special weight at Laurel Mar. 10, and cruised home 7 1/2 lengths clear back over that same track and trip Apr. 14. He crossed the wire fifth in Pimlico’s Sir Barton S. May 20, but was moved up a spot after rival was DQ’d for interfering with a different runner.